1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an X-ray tube device including an X-ray tube and a heat exchanger for cooling the X-ray tube.
2. Description of the Background Art
A medical apparatus using X-ray such as an X-ray diagnostic apparatus and an X-ray computed tomography apparatus has an X-ray tube device as shown in FIG. 1, where an X-ray tube 101 is equipped with a heat exchanger 102 which is connected with the X-ray tube 101 through oil hoses 103, so as to cool down the X-ray tube 101 by forcefully circulating the insulating oil through the X-ray tube 101, oil hoses 103 and the heat exchanger 102.
Conventionally, these X-ray tube 101 and the heat exchanger 102 have been manufactured as a unified element, undetachably from each other, and the weight of this unified element tended to become heavier as the need of the X-ray tube 101 of a larger capacity increases. For example, the weight of the X-ray tube 101 is typically about 50 Kg, while the weight of the heat exchanger 102 is also typically about 50 Kg.
Now, there is a need for replacing the X-ray tube 101 regularly, because of a limit life time of the X-ray tube 101. In a case of replacing the old X-ray tube by the new one, because the X-ray tube 101 is manufactured to be undetachable from the heat exchanger 102, the entire X-ray tube device as a whole has to be replaced, even when the heat exchanger 102 is still operational. In a case of the example described above, this implies that the entire element weighing almost 100 Kg has to be replaced, which in turn requires several workers in this operation of replacement.
Thus, the conventional X-ray tube device has been associated with the problems that the operation of replacement requires a large number of workers because of its heavy weight, and that the entire X-ray tube device has to be replaced even when either the heat exchanger or the X-ray tube alone is needed to be replaced, so that it has been not quite economical.